Birmingham's Sloss Furnaces prepares for groundbreaking for new visitors center

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a new visitors center Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

Bob Rathburn, executive director of Sloss Furnaces said foundation behind the site has been trying to build a new visitors center for 10 years. The building will have 9,000 square feet of exhibition space, plus offices and meeting space.

At the groundbreaking, organizers will have an iron pour. The visitors center will cost just over $5 millions with the city putting up about $4 million and the Sloss Foundation covering the rest.

When the building is finished the Foundation will spend another $3 million building the exhibits. The building is expected to be finished midsummer 2013 and the exhibits ready about three months later.